Fire and Bread
by PeetasAndHerondales
Summary: She joined the brave, while he chose the peaceful. Katniss and Peeta in the world of Divergent. For the Day Two Prompts in Panem challenge, "Other Worlds." ONE-SHOT


**Fire and Bead**

_**Katniss**_

I woke up to Prim's anguished screams. "Shh, it's okay, it was just a nightmare," I murmured as I held her tightly.

"You're going to leave us today," she sobbed.

"No, no, I would never leave you," I assured her as I stroked her soft, fair hair.

"But you know what they say, faction before blood," she insisted, sniffling.

"That will never be true for me," I promised her. "You will always be my little sister before anything else."

"Then why are you leaving Abnegation?" she asked, her voice high as she cried, her blue eyes welled up with tears as they ran down her rosy cheeks.

I bit my lip. "Because I'm not selfless enough for this life, Little Duck, I'm too self-centered," I explained. "And it would be even more selfish of me to stay and not live the way I should."

"Okay," she looked down sadly. "But just promise me that you'll try to make it through Dauntless initiation." She whimpered.

"Of course I will; I'm pretty smart, you know," I said as I kissed her forehead.

"And you know how to hunt," she added. "Plus, maybe Gale can help you since he went with the Dauntless too," she said hopefully.

This was true. Two years ago, my best friend Gale Hawthorne had been the first to leave Abnegation in many years, and I had promised to join him later in the Dauntless faction. I smiled at my sister, "Yes, I hope he can help me out too, but I'll probably have to make through most of it myself," I told her.

"I'll miss you," she whispered.

My eyes watered up, I hated being this selfish, I hated having to leave her, but it was all for the best. The results of my aptitude tests had been controversial, but I had no doubt in my mind that I was meant to be Dauntless. "I'll miss you too, Little Duck. Now go back to sleep. I'll be back later," I said soothingly.

"Will you sing?" she requested. I nodded, and began to sing her the first few verses of the meadow song.

_Deep in the meadow, under the willow, _

_A bed of grass, a soft green pillow_

_Lay down you head, and close your sleepy eyes_

_And when again they open, the sun will rise_

I tucked her in and kissed her head again. "You know the rest." I said as I finally grabbed my father's leather jacket and left.

_**Peeta**_

"I'm leaving today," I announced at the breakfast table.

Everyone looked up at me in horror. My brothers gaped in disbelief, while my father frowned sadly and my mother glared at me threateningly, "You would be selfish enough to leave your family and your faction?" she accused.

"Well then maybe that's why he's leaving," my middle brother, Rye, pointed out. My mother gave him a look that made him shut his mouth and turn back down to his plate.

"Let him be," My father said patiently as he held my mother's hand. I had never seen them show any affection, but surprisingly, my mother didn't pull her hand away. Then, my father's gentle blue eyes met mine as he said, "It's alright, son, we understand and respect your decision. We love you and we'll miss you, and we wish you the best of luck in your new faction," he smiled.

My mother snorted and rolled her eyes in disgust. But I simply returned my father's smile and thanked him for his support.

"I support you too, little brother," my eldest brother, Leven, said. "But I don't understand why you're leaving…you were the most selfless out of all of us, you always baked extra bread for the factionless, and you never gave us any reason to doubt that you belonged in Abnegation."

"Until now," mother huffed.

"He just wants to go after the Everdeen girl, because he knows she's leaving too," Rye smirked.

"That's not true," I said. "Katniss Everdeen is probably going to join the Dauntless like her friend Gale did, but I want to join Amity," I explained. "I can be a baker there, too, and still feed the factionless during my free time. Besides, my aptitude tests resulted in that faction," I confessed.

"Then what do they have that we don't?" Rye asked skeptically.

I shrugged. I didn't want to admit that I also wanted to go there to become a painter; their colorful life had always appealed to me, while the concrete streets and gray clothing of the Abnegation always made me feel like I was missing something in my life. "I guess their lifestyle just appeals to me more," I finally managed to say.

"Fine, leave, but know that you're abandoning your family for some petty, selfish, whim," Mother seethed.

"Well at least I won't have to be as selfish as you, since the least you could do is not insult me for your own benefit," I said as I stood up and left upstairs to get ready for the ceremony, slamming my bedroom door behind me. This life was definitely not for me.

_**Katniss**_

I walked through the gray streets towards Madge's house. She and Delly were my friends from school, but Madge's house was closer, and her father was the mayor, he and my father worked together. I knocked politely on the door for a few times before she finally opened the door.

"Oh, Katniss thank goodness you came!" she cried out, ever the drama queen.

"I came to say goodbye before the ceremony," I explained.

"I did too!" Delly announced as she appeared behind Madge while I stepped inside her house.

"So now you're both leaving!" Madge's lip wobbled.

"Oh, Madge we're so sorry," Delly said apologetically, her eyes wide with guilt.

"Delly, where are you transferring to?" I asked her curiously.

"I'm joining Amity," she replied. Well, that wasn't surprising. "And Peeta Mellark said he was too," she added.

Now that caught my attention. Peeta Mellark was possibly the most selfless person I had ever met; never in my life would I have considered him to be anything other than Abnegation. Part of me had always secretly assumed that I would have ended up married to him had I decided to stay, but I would never admit it out loud. Anyways, it was obvious now that this would have never been the case.

"What? No way, not Peeta too!" Madge exclaimed, shocked by the news.

"Madge, maybe you can come to Amity with us," Delly said gently as she touched her shoulder.

Madge shook her head. "No, I could never leave my ill mother, or my kind and loving father. I'm happy here in Abnegation; this is where I belong," she insisted as she clutched the buttons in her blouse that went up to her neck; she was decent to the point of pain.

"Well, I for one am excited to sing songs and pick apples from the orchard and wear beautiful yellow dresses," Delly sighed dreamily.

"And I need to leave to join Gale so we can jump off of trains with the Dauntless," I said dryly.

Delly and Madge turned to me in horror before I assured them that I would be fine. "Goodness, Katniss, you're really making us worry," Madge accused.

"But if that's what makes you happy, then we'll support you," Delly finished, although she still looked terrified.

"I have something for you," Madge finally remembered as she dug for something in her pocket.

"Madge, it really isn't necessary-" I began, feeling uncomfortable with the idea of receiving presents.

"This is a special occasion," she insisted as she held out her hand and handed me a gold pin with a bird holding an arrow in its beak.

I took it and spun the small, cool object in my fingers. "It's a mockingjay," I suddenly realized.

Madge nodded. "It used to be my Aunt Maysilee's before she left to join the Dauntless…she's not alive anymore, but I want you to take it as a token of good luck," she smiled.

I bit my lip. "Are you sure?" I asked.

"Definitely. Keep it. Maybe it'll help you get through initiation, I heard it's one of the toughest," she said worriedly.

"I think you'll do great Katniss," Delly said encouragingly.

"Thanks, Delly, Madge," I nodded at both of them, trying not to cry.

Madge and plastered on a smile, as she always did when someone needed cheering up, "Well, we better start getting ready for the ceremony," she suggested. "It's almost time for it to begin."

_**Peeta**_

The Choosing Ceremony always took place in the Hub, and this year it was hosted by none other than Amity. We were arranged in a concentric circle, the outer one full of sixteen-year-olds, the inner one with families sitting in rows, and the last one containing the five metal bowls where we would make the decision of our lives. All of the five factions were represented here: gray stone for Abnegation, water for Erudite, earth for Amity, lit coals for Dauntless, and glass for Candor. A woman with bright pink colorful clothing named Effie Trinket smiled and began speaking the opening messaging, passionately describing the virtues of each function and their purpose in our society. Her voice was high-pitched and cheerful, and a bit annoying to be honest. I tuned her out after a while as I waited for her to call out the names, my eyes scanning the room for Katniss Everdeen. She was wearing a dress that almost looked blue, perhaps a darker shade of gray than my button-down shirt. Then, I began to pay attention as Effie began to call out the names, knowing that they were always given in reverse alphabetical order. Before I knew it, I heard my name and I stood up and headed towards the stage, taking the knife that was being handed to me. Without hesitating, I stood in front of the bowl with earth in it and sliced the knife through my palm, allowing my hot, red, blood to soak into the moist brown earth as my hand stung in pain. Once I was finished, I went to sit by new faction, some of them already offering me hugs and smiles and claps on the back as if we had been friends forever. I had never felt so light.

Soon, they called out Katniss' name and she stood up nervously as she went towards the stage and repeated the same procedure, except with another faction. The brave and determined look on her face was admirable, and she didn't even wince when her dark blood sizzled into the fiery coals of the Dauntless bowl. Katniss Everdeen, the girl on fire. She made everything inside me burn with passion, and I knew that no matter how hard I tried, I could be never be with her. She had made her decision, and I had made mine. We were simply too different, and she was leaving to join another man. My eyes followed her as she took her place beside the Dauntless, who turned to her skeptically and mockingly. But she would show them. I knew she would.

_**Katniss**_

It has been three months since I've joined the Dauntless, and all I can say is that not only am I lucky to have survived initiation, but I am proud of it. Not only have I made many new friends, but I was also lucky enough to have Gale as my Dauntless instructor, and he helped me immensely, especially with my hand-to-hand combat skills. Unfortunately, I also made enemies, among them a ruthless blonde boy named Cato, a mentally twisted girl named Clove, and snide boy named Marvel. But somehow, I still made it through, and even ended up tattooing three mockingjays on my chest, each one symbolizing a member of my family that I had left behind. Tattoos were extremely popular in Dauntless, and some people were covered in them. My favorite tattoo artist was Cinna, but Flavius, Octavia, and Venia, and Portia worked at the tattoo parlor too, and all of them were amazing. I kept Madge's gold pin hidden somewhere in my black clothing at all times. That was another thing—the Dauntless mostly wore black.

One day, while I was eating in the cafeteria with my new friends Johanna and Finnick, we had a scrumptious chocolate cake for dessert. "This is the best thing I've ever had in my life," I exclaimed enthusiastically, were never allowed to eat things like this in Abnegation.

Johanna laughed. "Don't tell me you've never had cake either! First burgers and now this? What _were _you allowed to eat, asparagus?" Johanna had transferred from Candor, so she was known for having no filter when she voiced her thoughts.

"Actually, they mostly eat canned foods, since eating food out of pure self-indulgence is considered to be selfish," Finnick explained matter-of-factly. Finnick was a transfer from Erudite, and he always seemed to know everything.

"I'm just glad I transferred here," I said as I allowed the sweet chocolate to melt in my mouth. "The food here is mouth-watering."

"Well if you think the _food_ is mouth-watering, you should see the new baker we have," Johanna winked.

"Johanna!" I exclaimed, blushing.

"He can't be sexier than me!" Finnick accused in mock disbelief.

"Nobody is sexier than you, Finnick Odair," Johanna responded flirtatiously. The way they looked at each other made me cringe.

Johanna then turned back to me and said, "How about I introduce you to him now? I heard he's from Amity, so that probably explains why he's so nice. But most importantly, he's delicious, and I think he'd be perfect for you," she said.

I shifted nervously. "I don't know…" I trailed off.

"Oh come on, it'll be fun!" she insisted, and she stood up and grabbed me by the elbow as I followed her towards the kitchens.

"Have fun, ladies!" Finnick waved, wearing a mischievous grin on his face. And, just like that, I became afraid.

_**Peeta**_

Everyone in Amity was expected to do volunteer work in other factions, and I had purposely chosen Dauntless, knowing that no one else would be brave enough to take it and that my pastries could finally be enjoyed by the girl whom I had longed for ever since I was five. Even if she never found out that they came from me, it pleased me to think that she was enjoying something I had made for her.

"Peeta?" I looked up as I heard someone call my name.

"Johanna?" I said as I saw the Dauntless girl who liked often came into the kitchen to share jokes and eat extra cake.

She smiled. "I brought a friend this time," she said as another girl came inside, and as soon as I saw her face, my heart stopped, skipping a beat for too long.

"Katniss?" I gaped.

"Peeta," she gasped, as if she didn't expect to see me here, which honestly wasn't surprising.

"Oh, so you two know each other? I'll just leave so you guys can catch up, then," she winked. And before we could protest, she was gone.

The next thing I knew was that I was launching myself at Katniss, crashing my lips into hers, afraid that I would lose her again. She bit my lip too hard, and I pulled away in horror as she slapped me, my cheek stinging. Okay, maybe I deserved that.

"What the _hell_?" she screeched angrily, her gray eyes storming in rage.

"I-I'm sorry, I don't even know what came over me," I admitted, ashamed.

She was silent for a moment, pursing her lips thoughtfully as I glared down at the floor, feeling like a complete and total reckless, selfish idiot. Never before had I acted this way, being reckless was something the Dauntless were more likely to do, not something someone like me would do.

Then, she finally broke the awkward silence and whispered, "You're like me."

I looked up at her then, puzzled by her steady gaze. "What?"

"You're Divergent," she said against my ear, her hot breath tickling my neck, making me shudder.

"I don't know what that is," I managed to say.

"It means we're in danger," she breathed.

I gulped. "Can you elaborate on that, please?" I requested as I shifted nervously from foot to foot; I had to get back to Amity headquarters soon, before it got dark.

"Not here," she murmured.

"Um, well, okay, can we save this for tomorrow? Because I have to get back to my faction soon to bake…"

She gripped my wrist tightly, "This is important," she growled as she backed me up against the wall. I had never been more turned on.

I took a deep inhale as I tried to calm down. "Fine, then you can come with me, you can be my escort for today," I suggested.

She let go of me then. "Fine, just don't try anything with me while we're heading there," she warned. I agreed, but didn't admit that she was even more alluring to me when she was mad.

_**Katniss**_

"Gale is the one who noticed that I was Divergent after seeing how well I did on my simulations," I explained to Peeta as we followed the train tracks towards Amity headquarters. "He's divergent as well. He has aptitude for Dauntless, Erudite, and Abnegation just like I do. But it sounds to me like you have it for Amity as well as Abnegation and something else….but I'm not sure if it's Dauntless," I admitted.

"I don't think that's very likely," he scoffed. "I didn't even want to jump on the train when you suggested that it would be faster that way," he reminded me.

"True…but I still have the feeling that there's something else in you," I said thoughtfully, unable to place my finger on it.

"The only thing in me right now is confusion, because you still haven't explained to me what the big deal about being Divergent is," he complained.

There was something about the blatant way that he talked…and then it hit me. "That's it! You have aptitude for Candor!" I exclaimed.

His eyes widened. "What, no! I lie all the time….and Candors don't do that, do they? In Amity, you have to lie sometimes so you can be nice to people, and in Abnegation, you were never allowed to say the truth if it was hurtful to somebody. It would just be contradicting." he pointed out.

"Nonetheless, I think you have an honest way with words," I insisted. "And being Divergent is dangerous because they don't want us to be able to relate to other factions; they want to keep us separate so that we can be controlled. And by "they," I don't mean our Abnegation-led government, but rather the Erudite. I think Coin is up to something, but I've told you too much already," I said briskly.

"Don't you think I have the right to know, since I'm in as much danger as you?" he asked.

I hesitated. "All right, but only because you have the right to know that they are tracking us down so they can kill us…"

"What?" he exclaimed.

"Shh, don't yell, you'll get us murdered!" I hissed. "I know there's no one around here, but I still don't want to risk it."

"Sorry," he mumbled, his eyes darting back down sadly, making me heart wrench in way I wouldn't want him to know. Maybe I should have kissed him back…I shook my head to clear my thoughts; no, I was already in enough trouble as it was.

"My theory is that they're putting things in our injections, such as the ones we use for the fear landscape," I confessed to him.

"Really? Because our leader makes me put some sort of "peace serum" in the Amity bread to calm people down, so maybe it's just that?" he suggested.

My eyes widened. "You put _what _in the bread? Are you telling me that everyone in your faction is happy because they're _high?_" I demanded in disgust.

He laughed. "No, I wouldn't say they're _high_, per se, more like slightly medicated. I don't eat my own bread though, so I wouldn't really know," he shrugged.

I gaped at him as we were nearing the gates. "Peeta, this is a big deal. Don't you see that that's just another way that they use to control us? Is that really what you want?" I asked him disbelief,

He frowned. "Well no, I guess you have a point there. I'll try to investigate as much as I can from my end," he promised. "I'll see you later?" he asked as we neared the gate, to where the Dauntless guards could clearly see us.

"Yeah. Bye," I smiled to him as I left. My smile didn't fade for the rest of the night.

_**Peeta**_

I paced around impatiently underneath the apple trees as I waited for Katniss. It had been months since our first encounter, and ever since then, things had become even more hectic, but we had become inseparable. It had gotten to the point where we had found ways to sneak into each other's factions during the night, as well as sneak out of both and meet in the middle every now and then. But it was obvious that our society was crumbling, and that it would only be sooner rather than later before something terrible happened, and it was highly likely that we, as Divergents with not two, but three aptitudes, would go down first. Abnegation had already been destroyed, and the Dauntless had already taken refuge with the Candor after having being induced by a powerful serum designed by the Erudite so that they were the ones to take down the Abnegation. Needless to say, Amity wanted none of it, and we were only taking in those who needed refuge, with the condition that they would follow our rules.

"Psst, Peeta! Over here!" I heard a voice whisper, and I instantly ran towards it, knowing that it was my Katniss. I looked up to see her jump down from one of the branches, which she had probably used to climb over the wall.

"There you are," I said as I leaned in and kissed her, then pulled away so that I could grab her hand and delve her deeper into the orchards.

"Peeta, what do you have in that paper bag?" she asked as we suddenly arrived in the hidden clearing that I had found earlier, where I had splayed out a blanket for a picnic.

"Just your favorite cheese buns," I grinned as I held up the bag and sat down on the blanket, motioning her to sit by me.

"Peeta, we're in the middle of a war, and you want us to have a _picnic?" _she cried out in disbelief.

I sighed. "Look Katniss, I have faith in you, I really do, but if we don't survive this…well, I want our last moments to be together," I explained, pleading at her with my eyes.

"Peeta, don't say that, we're not going to die, I'm not going to let that happen," she said firmly as she sat down on the blanket beside me and locked her gaze with mine, making me put the bag aside as she grabbed on to my hands and interlaced them tightly between hers.

"I love you," I told her softly.

"Peeta…" she began.

"You don't have to say it back," I interrupted her gently, even though I wanted her to.

"It's not that. It's just that I don't want us to say goodbye," she whispered.

"Then come here," I said as I held her close against my chest, wrapping my arms around her tightly, never wanting to let her go. "I wish I could freeze this moment right here, right now, and live in it forever," I murmured as I watched the sun beginning to dip into the sky, splaying a perfect shade of orange over us.

"Then I'll allow it," she said as she pulled away to look at me and kiss me more ardently than she ever had before. I tangled my hands in her long, dark hair, moaning as her warm tongue darted into my mouth after I had allowed it entrance. Our kisses continued to deepen, and soon it became apparent that we were feeding a spark, and that nothing could stop us now. My girl was on fire, and I was burning for her.

_**Katniss**_

Our clothes had disappeared with the sunlight. His hands explored my body with loving and gentle touches, before coming back up to lightly knead my breasts as if they were dough. I arched my back as he put one of my breasts in his mouth, while using his hand to massage my other one, rolling my hardened nipple between his deft fingers, his tongue performing languid patterns on the other one. "Oh, Peeta, don't stop!" I gasped as I interlocked my fingers in his short blonde curls.

"I'm not planning to," he assured me as I suddenly felt his hardness between my thighs and then slipped his hand down to rub the place between my legs. I moaned, and then he slipped a finger inside me, which caused me to make an even more audible gasp. "You're so wet for me," he breathed into my ear.

"Peeta, I need you now," I pleaded, and to prove my point further, I reached down and grasped him, feeling the impossibly soft skin covering his erection.

His mouth parted open in surprise as he withheld a moan, his blue eyes turning dark along with the sky. I took this as a sign of approval as I bent forward to kiss him, causing his tip to brush over my sex. We both gasped at the feeling that this elicited, and soon he took over and I spread my legs wider as he slid slowly into me. Although this wasn't the first time we did this, I always had to let myself adjust to his size as he began moving steadily. It was a feeling of wholeness, having Peeta inside me, shifting back and forth as we found our rhythm. I reached my hands down to squeeze his behind so that he could go in deeper, then gave that up and decided to wrap my legs around him instead as my nails dug into his back. Soon, we both started panting heavily as we started to reach our climax. I remembered how, months ago, intimacy had been in my fear landscape, and how Peeta had completely turned that around by making me feel safe in his strong arms. The noise that came out of his mouth as he found his release inspired me to find my own. I felt like there were notes dancing over me as they reached their sweet crescendo. He collapsed, rolling beside me on the blanket as I turned to him to stroke his dampened hair. He smiled at me dreamily as he asked, "You love me, real or not real?"

And I said, "Real."

And that was the last thing we said to each other before all hell set loose.


End file.
